JP2005168041A - Wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless communication system capable of automatically switching a connection-destination wireless communication system in accordance with application contents, communication state, user state, surrounding environmental conditions and the like.
A communication network including a plurality of radio base stations, a radio terminal device connectable to each radio base station, and information for specifying each of a plurality of connection destinations of a radio terminal device designated in advance are described. A connection destination selection unit that selects a connection destination of the wireless terminal device with reference to the table, the wireless terminal device monitoring the state of the user of the wireless terminal device as needed, and the user Means for storing the health management information, and means for sending an emergency signal when it is detected that the user is in a dangerous state with reference to the means for storing the health management information. When an emergency signal is received from a wireless terminal device that is transmitted via any of the base stations, a connection destination of the wireless terminal device is selected.
[Selection] Figure 17

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication system.

  In a conventional wireless communication system, communication is performed using different frequencies for each system. For this reason, each wireless terminal is a terminal unique to the wireless communication system used, and can be connected only to the corresponding wireless communication system. On the other hand, some terminals have a plurality of types of wireless communication devices built in and can be connected to a plurality of wireless communication systems, but can be connected to only one system at a time. In addition, the switching of the wireless communication device itself is manually performed by the user of the wireless terminal.

  The wireless communication system shown in FIG. 18 uses a wireless terminal device 1004 called a dual mode terminal that can be connected to two communication networks, here, a PHS network 1000 and a PDC network 1002. The thing wireless terminal device 1004 includes a display unit 1006, a numeric keypad 1008, a wireless antenna 1010 for the PHS network 100, and a wireless antenna 1012 for the PDC network 1002. Radio base stations 1014 and 1016 are connected to the PHS network 1000 and the PHS network 1002, respectively, and the radio terminal device 1004 is connected to the PHS network 1000 and the PDC network 1002 via the radio base stations 1014 and 1016. . The PHS network 100 and the PDC network 1002 are connected to the Internet 1020, which is a public network, via an access server 2109 corresponding to each.

  For example, the wireless terminal device 1004 can connect to the PHS network 1000 using the wireless antenna 1010 and can perform a voice call with the communication destination terminal 1022 connected to the PHS network 1000. Further, it is also possible to connect to the PDC network 1002 using the wireless antenna 1012 and perform a voice call with a communication destination terminal 1024 connected to the PDC network 1002. Furthermore, a data communication line can be established with the access server 1018 and a desired information server (WWW server) 1026 can be accessed via the Internet 1020. Information in the information server 1026 is transmitted to the wireless device terminal 1004 via either the PHS network 1000 or the PDC network 1002 and displayed on the display unit 1006 of the wireless terminal device 1004.

  In the above case, the connection destination of the wireless terminal device 1004, that is, which of the PHS network 1000 and the PDC network 1002 is connected is selected by the user's input using the numeric keypad 1008 or the like. That is, the selection depends on the user's will. Therefore, for example, when a user performs voice communication, the PDC network 1002 having a wide service area and adaptable to high-speed movement is selected, or the PHS network 1000 having a high data communication transmission speed is selected. The choice is based on the user's decision. For this reason, for example, when the PHS network 1000 is selected during a voice call, the communication is disconnected during movement, or the PDC network 1002 is selected for data communication. As a result, the data transmission speed is reduced. In some cases, the fee was low and the fee was high.

  In the PC device 1028 shown in FIG. 19, both the PHS data communication card 1030 and the wireless LAN card 1032 are connected to the PCMCIA card slot 1028a of the PC device 1028. The PHS data communication card 1030 is connected to the PHS terminal 1034, and the wireless LAN card device 1032 is connected to the parent device 1036 via the antenna unit 1032a. The PC device 1028 accesses an information server (WWW server) 1046 connected to the Internet 1044 via the wireless LAN card 1032, the parent device 1036, the Ethernet (registered trademark) 1038, the local network 1040, and the gateway 1042. . Alternatively, the information server 1046 can be accessed via the PHS data communication card 1030, the PHS terminal 1034, the base station 1048, the PHS network 1050, and the access server 1052. Further, communication is possible with a communication destination terminal 1054 connected to the PHS network 1050.

  The connection destination of the PC device 1028 in FIG. 19, that is, which of the local network 1040 and the PHS network 1050 is connected, is displayed on the display device of the PC device 1028 and corresponds to the local network 104 and the PHS network 1050, respectively. The icon 1028b is determined by clicking with the mouse cursor 1028c. Furthermore, information of the information server 1046 can be downloaded by operating software such as a WWW browser in the PC device 1028.

  Even in this case, similarly to the case shown in FIG. 18 described above, the user of the PC device 1028 selects the connection destination of the PC device 1028, so that wireless communication is executed. Also, once selected, the connection destination cannot be automatically switched during communication. For this reason, for example, even when the PC device 1028 connected to the local network 1040 moves indoors and it is necessary to switch the connection to the PHS network 1050, the communication with the local network 1040 is once disconnected. After that, it is necessary to reconnect to the PHS network 105. Therefore, a complicated operation is required for the user.

  Further, as a problem common to both of the cases of FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 described above, when switching two radio units, each radio unit is independent, so that the physical layer and the MAC layer of the radio unit are necessary. There is a problem that there is. Further, in the case of FIG. 19, since a logic LSI for data communication is necessary for both, there is a problem that the weight, power consumption, and price cost of the wireless device are almost equal to two.

  Furthermore, separate systems have been constructed for each radio frequency, but in the 2.4 GHz band, not only IEEE 802.11 but also a plurality of systems such as home RF and Bluetooth use the same frequency band. However, since the devices of each system are independent, it is necessary to connect a plurality of wireless terminals as shown in FIG. 19 even in the same frequency band as described above. Similarly, in the 5.2 GHz band and the 5.3 GHz band, a plurality of wireless systems are expected to share frequencies.

  In addition, since switching of the wireless device of the wireless terminal device is performed manually by the user, the wireless communication system to be connected must be changed every time the location changes. When communication contents are different even in the same place, it is necessary to switch the radios. Furthermore, since a plurality of wireless devices cannot be selected at the same time, it has been impossible to realize communication of a plurality of contents such as making a call while viewing an image.

  The present invention solves such problems and enables wireless communication that can automatically switch the wireless communication system of the connection destination in accordance with the contents of the application, the state of communication, the state of the user, the surrounding environmental conditions, etc. The purpose is to provide a system.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a communication network including a plurality of radio base stations, a radio terminal device connectable to each of the radio base stations, and a plurality of connection destinations of the radio terminal device designated in advance. And a connection destination selecting unit that selects a connection destination of the wireless terminal device with reference to the table, wherein the wireless terminal device is a user of the wireless terminal device. Referring to the means for monitoring the state of the user at any time, the means for storing the health management information of the user, and the means for storing, an emergency signal is transmitted when the user is detected to be in a dangerous state. The connection destination selection means selects a connection destination of the wireless terminal device when receiving an emergency signal from the wireless terminal device transmitted via any of the wireless base stations. wireless Characterized in that it is a signal system.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically switch the connection-destination wireless communication system according to the state of the user or the like. For this reason, the troublesome operation by the user can be reduced, and the operation of the application can be appropriately performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the radio | wireless communications system which can be switched automatically according to a user's state etc. can be implement | achieved according to the switching of a connection destination radio | wireless communications system. For this reason, switching by the user is unnecessary, and the user does not have to perform troublesome switching operation. Moreover, the application of the wireless terminal device can be operated more appropriately by automatic switching.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. Below, the radio | wireless terminal apparatus which concerns on this invention is demonstrated first, Next, the radio | wireless communications system and radio | wireless communication method which concern on this invention are demonstrated using six embodiment.

(Wireless terminal device according to the present invention)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a wireless communication system including a wireless terminal device according to the present invention. This wireless communication system includes a first communication network 10 that performs local communication, second and third communication networks 12 and 14 that perform public connection, and first, second, and third communication networks 10, 12, 14 respectively corresponding to the first, second and third radio base stations 16, 18, 20 and the first, second and third radio base stations 16, 18, 20. And a wireless terminal device 22 that can be wirelessly connected to the communication networks 10, 12, and 14. An interface 24 is connected between the first communication network 10 and the second communication network 12, and an interface 26 is connected between the second communication network 12 and the third communication network 14. Yes.

  The wireless terminal device 22 according to the present invention realizes wireless communication with each of the first, second and third wireless base stations 16, 18 and 20. The wireless terminal device 22 has at least wireless interfaces that can communicate with the first, second, and third base stations 16, 18, and 20. Usually, not all of the communicable areas of the base stations 16, 18, and 20 overlap each other. Therefore, the wireless terminal device 22 selects a wireless base station that can establish communication from the first, second, and third wireless base stations 16, 18, and 20, and is most appropriate from the communication performance required by the application. Select the correct communication path. In FIG. 1, a wireless base station 16 is a wireless communication base station that realizes local communication within a short distance, such as Bluetooth, wireless LAN, and home RF, and a wireless base station 18 is a public mobile communication such as a PDC. The wireless base station 109, which is a network base station and can perform stable communication even at high speeds such as the moving speed of a car, is a walking base such as PHS or high-speed mobile access. It is a public wireless communication base station that provides speed-like movement.

  Next, the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. This first example is an example related to a method of selecting a wireless device when the 2.4 GHz band is used for the wireless unit. In the first example, the physical layer and the MAC layer corresponding to Bluetooth, home RF, and IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11b, the same applies hereinafter) are configured independently. The radio switching control middleware (RLC) realizes the communication quality required in the application (AP) by switching the radio device, and further, the QOS management unit can ensure the quality required by the user application. Retransmission control and flow control are performed on the LLC layer or TCP layer.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. The second example includes an application management control unit that manages QoS requirements of user applications and radio management control middleware (RLC).

Further, the physical layer and the MAC layer are switchable wireless systems that are flexibly connected using the same hardware, such as a software defined radio. Based on the QoS information requested by the application management control unit, the radio management control middleware (RLC) controls the software defined radio so as to satisfy the requested QoS information. In this case, for example, Bluetooth, home RF, and IEEE802.11 can be considered as the radio connected.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. In the third example, the physical layer has a data link, IP, TCP / UDP, and the like for each system such as Bluetooth, home RF, and IEEE 802.11. Further, an application management control unit that performs a communication quality request from a user application, a device that monitors the state of a terminal or a user by a battery / sensor, and an interface switching control middleware that switches an interface provided for each system. Have. The application management control unit switches the system interface to which the communication middleware is connected according to a predetermined algorithm based on the communication quality required by the user application, information indicating the terminal or user status obtained from the battery / sensor, etc. Thus, an appropriate wireless device is selected.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example of the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. The fourth example is an example relating to a method of selecting a wireless device when using a 5 GHz band, for example. The fourth example includes an application management control unit, radio management control middleware (RLC), and the like, but the MAC layer realizes a difference between systems by software. Furthermore, the physical layer is provided for the 5.2 GHz band and for the 5.3 GHz band, respectively. The application management control unit transmits the communication quality required by the application to the radio management control middleware unit (RLC), determines a radio device to be connected in the radio management control middleware unit, and corresponds to a system for connecting the MAC layer, A desired radio system is realized by connecting to a necessary physical layer.

(First embodiment)
Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a radio communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, as a communication partner of the wireless terminal device 22, the first communication network 10 includes an information server 30 configured by individual storage information such as mail, and the second communication network 12 includes advertisement information. An information server 34 composed of multimedia information including moving images and still images is connected to the information server 32 and the third communication network 14. The wireless terminal device 11 selects a communication destination from among these information servers 30, 32, and 34.

  Next, the operation of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, the wireless terminal device 22 requests the user based on the remaining battery level of the wireless terminal device 22, the performance of the display screen, the content requested by the user, the communication quality requested by the application, the version information of the application, and the like. The information servers 30, 32, and 34 including the contents are selected, and the communication networks 10, 12, and 14 to be connected are determined from the selection result. For example, consider a case where multimedia information including a moving image is received from the information server 34. When the remaining battery level of the wireless terminal device 22 is sufficient and the display device of the wireless terminal device 22 can display a high-definition video, the communication middleware of the wireless terminal device 22 passes through the third communication network 14. Communication with the information server 34 is executed. The information provided from the information server 34 is large-capacity information mainly composed of moving images. In order to carry this information, the wireless terminal device 22 connects to the wireless base station 20 via the third wireless transmission path. . Furthermore, it is necessary when the application of the wireless terminal device 22 requests mail transfer from the information server 30 at the same time, or when it is expected to reduce the communication fee by receiving advertisement information from the information server 32. In response, information is received from the information servers 30 and 32 via the interfaces 24 and 26.

  In addition, when the use of the second wireless transmission path having a transmission speed lower than that of the third wireless transmission path is sufficient, the communication middleware of the wireless terminal device 22 is required from the viewpoint of cost required for communication and power consumption. Communication with the information server 34 is performed via the second wireless transmission path and the second communication network 12 which are advantageous. In such a case, for example, when the remaining battery level is low, when the information transmission content requested by the application is lower than the third communication network 14 or when moving at high speed, the third radio base It occurs for reasons such as being out of the area of the station 20.

  Further, when connection to the wireless base station 16 of the first communication network 10 by local communication is possible, the communication middleware of the wireless terminal device 22 transmits information via the first wireless transmission path and the first communication network 10. Communication with the servers 30, 32, and 34 is performed. In private communication, a communication fee is generally not incurred for each communication, so that it is possible to realize inexpensive communication.

  In general, the higher the transmission speed, the higher the power consumption for the same transmission method and transmission quality. Therefore, these selections effectively work for extending the operation time of the wireless terminal device 22 by battery operation, for example. In addition, since the communication distance in the communication local area wireless communication is shorter than that of public wireless communication, it is possible to similarly extend the operation time of the terminal by battery operation by performing communication with a smaller transmission output.

  Here, a specific configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the wireless terminal device 22. The wireless terminal device 22 includes a communication control unit 2201, wireless reception units 2202a, 2202b, and 2202c, a battery device 2203, an acceleration sensor 2204, a position sensor 2205, a terminal state determination unit 2206, a display device 2207, An input device 2208, a user application 2209, and wireless transmission units 2210a, 2210b, and 2210c are included.

  Next, the reception operation of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. 7 will be described using FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the reception operation of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. First, the communication control unit 2201 reads wireless reception information from the wireless reception units 2202a, 2202b, and 2202c, and determines a wireless device that can be used from the wireless reception information (step S101). Subsequently, the respective statuses of the display device 2207, the input device 2208, and the user application 2209 are read, and a radio device candidate to be actually used is determined from available radio devices (step S102).

Normally, the display device status information, the input device status information, and the requested QoS information output from the display device 2207, the input device 2208, and the user application 2209 are temporarily stored in a storage device such as a memory (not shown), and then the communication control unit. 2201 is read.

  Next, the terminal state determination unit 2206 acquires acceleration information and position information from the acceleration sensor 2204 and the position sensor 2205, and determines whether or not the wireless terminal device 22 is operable (step S103). Usually, the terminal state determination information is once recorded in a storage device such as a memory (not shown). Then, the communication control unit 2201 determines the operation state of the wireless terminal device 22, that is, the operation state of the user of the wireless terminal device 22 based on the terminal state determination information stored in the storage device, and the wireless terminal The reception performance required for the device 22 is determined (step S104). For example, when the user is not looking at the screen, it is not necessary to receive a real-time image. In this case, image data may be received at a reduced transmission rate.

  Next, the communication control unit 2201 narrows down the wireless devices to be used based on the determination result of step S104 (step S105). There may be a plurality of wireless device use candidates as well as one. However, in the case where there are a plurality of priorities, priorities are assigned by a predetermined algorithm or the like. Then, one of the wireless devices that are candidates for use is selected (step S106), and the communication control unit 2201 determines whether or not communication is possible using the selected candidate, and wireless reception units 2202a, 2202b, and 2202c. Judgment is made by referring to the radio reception information from (step S107). If the candidate does not satisfy the condition (NO in step S107), and if there are further candidates (YES in step S108), the process returns to step S106. On the other hand, if there is no next candidate (NO in step S108), the data reception is stopped (step S109), and the reception operation ends here.

  If the radio selected in step S107 satisfies the condition (YES in step S107), it is determined as a radio to be used (step S110). If there are further candidates (YES in step S111), the process returns to step S106. On the other hand, if there is no next candidate (NO in step S111), the communication control unit 2201 transmits a receiver control signal to the radio reception units 2202a, 2202b, and 2202c, and selects a radio device optimal for reception (step S112). Data reception is started (step S113), and the reception operation of the wireless terminal device 22 ends.

  Next, the transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. 7 will be described using FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. First, the communication control unit 2201 confirms whether there is data to be transmitted (step S201). If there is no transmission data (NO in step S202), it is determined whether or not to wait for transmission data by means of a timer or the like. If so (YES in step S213), the process returns to step S201. If not continued (NO in step S213), the data transmission is immediately stopped (step S210), and the transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 ends.

  On the other hand, if there is transmission data (YES in step S202), the communication control unit 2201 reads the terminal state determination information and determines whether or not the wireless terminal device 22 is operable (step S203). Further, the remaining battery amount information may be acquired from the battery 2203 in step S203. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the wireless terminal device 22 is ready for transmission (step S204). For example, even if the user application 2209 desires real-time transmission of a camera image by the user, if it is determined in step S203 that the user is in a walking state, it is determined that a correct image cannot be transmitted. However, an operation such as not performing broadband communication necessary for the image signal (step S210) is conceivable. Further, when it is determined from the remaining battery information that the remaining battery level is low, it may be determined that the transmission operation is impossible. At this point, the transmission operation ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the wireless terminal device 22 is ready for transmission (YES in step S204), the communication control unit 2201 reads the wireless reception information (step S205) and determines a selection candidate for the wireless device. (Step S206). Here, the selection candidate of the radio is determined based on the radio reception information. Usually, since transmission and reception are performed in pairs with respect to the same radio base station, broadcast information from the radio base station is received. This is because it is considered that transmission using a wireless transmission path that cannot be performed is impossible. However, for example, in the case of a hybrid wireless communication system that uses different radios for transmission and reception, step S205, which is a reception state confirmation operation, can be omitted.

  Then, one of the wireless devices that are selection candidates is selected (step S207), and it is determined whether or not the wireless device is capable of transmission. If transmission is not possible (NO in step S208), If there are more next candidates (YES in step S209), the process returns to step S207. On the other hand, if there is no next candidate (NO in step S209), data transmission is stopped (step S210), and the transmission operation ends here. Note that the determination in step S208 described above may be made based on, for example, whether broadcast information transmitted from the radio base station can be received by a pair of receivers.

  On the other hand, if transmission is possible (step S208 YES), use of the wireless device is determined (step S211), data transmission is started (step S212), and the transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 is terminated. Note that not only transmission but also reception may be performed simultaneously.

  Here, prioritization of the selected radios in the reception operation of FIG. 8 and the transmission operation of FIG. 9 may be performed as follows, for example. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of prioritizing selected radios. In the example of FIG. 10A, the communication data amount is M, the transmission speed of the communication path 1 and the hourly unit price are a and A, the transmission speed of the communication path 2 and the hourly unit price are b and B, respectively. In this case, the communication costs of the communication paths 1, 2, and 3 are (A / a) M, (B / b) M, (C / C, respectively). c) M Therefore, if the communication cost is cheaper in the order of communication paths 2, 1, and 3, the communication paths may be prioritized in ascending order.

  In the example of FIG. 10B, the communication channel 1 is a time charging method in which a communication fee is determined according to time, the communication channel 2 is a packet charging method in which a communication fee is determined according to the number of packets, and the communication channel 3 is This is the case for a flat fee. Here, assuming that the communication charge of the communication path 2 is p per packet and the average packet length is 1, the marginal cost required for data transmission is (A / a) in each of the communication paths 1, 2 and 3 M, (M / 1) p, 0 can be calculated. In this case, if the communication cost is cheaper in the order of the communication paths 3, 2, 1, the communication path selection may be given priority in that order.

  By having such a calculation table in the terminal, it is possible to easily select a wireless communication path with low cost.

  Such prioritization of communication paths can be performed using not only the communication cost as in the above example but also other factors. For example, in the case of a portable terminal, a communication path is determined with priority given to cost when the remaining battery level is high, and a communication path with priority is given to a communication path with lower power consumption when the remaining battery level is low. You just have to decide. As a method for determining a communication path with low power consumption, not only the transmission speed but also the received electric field strength information from the base station is used to perform the necessary transmission power control to the base station, and the base station is closest, and A wireless communication path with low power consumption can also be selected.

  Furthermore, it is also possible to select a base station according to the content contents, instead of selecting according to cost as in the above example. For example, in the example of FIG. 10C, in the case of a fixed content whose data amount is expected to be within a certain range, the communication amount 1 using the flat rate system is charged and the range of the data amount is not fixed. In the case of pay-as-you-go content such as real-time image transmission, priority is given to the communication path 3 that has a low communication fee but a narrow area, and the communication charge is higher than the communication path 3 However, the communication path 2 having a wide communication area is searched and selected.

  By providing such a selection algorithm in the communication control unit, the power consumption of the terminal can be suppressed, and the terminal can be downsized, the communication time can be increased, and the communication fee can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment shows a specific application example of the radio communication system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 11A, the communication system according to the second embodiment is connected to the first communication network 36, the second communication network 38, and the first communication network 36, and is capable of high-speed transmission. A first radio base station (for example, a CDMA radio base station) 40 and a second radio base station (for example, a PHS) connected to the second communication network 38 and performing transmission at a lower speed than the first radio base station 40 Wireless base station) 42 and a wireless terminal device 44 that performs wireless communication between the first and second wireless base stations 40 and 42. The wireless terminal device 44 includes an antenna 4401, a display device 4402, and an acceleration sensor 4403 provided in parallel with the display device 4402. The wireless terminal device 44 forms a high-speed wireless transmission path 46 with the first wireless base station 40 and forms a low-speed wireless transmission path 48 with the second wireless base station 42.

  FIG. 11A shows a state in which the user of the wireless terminal device 44 is just looking at the image displayed on the display device 4402 of the wireless terminal device 44. In this case, the acceleration sensor 4403 provided in the wireless terminal device 44 is positioned in such a direction that the wireless terminal device 44 detects the direction of gravity. Thereby, the acceleration sensor 4403 can detect that the display device 4402 of the wireless terminal device 44 is in the upward direction. This is because a mobile terminal with a screen display is usually positioned below the user's line of sight and the screen is viewed. Therefore, if it is detected that the terminal is in the upward direction, it can be determined that the user is looking at the screen. For example, if the user is viewing a real-time image, the wireless terminal device 44 forms a high-speed wireless transmission path 46 with the first wireless base station 40 and looks at the screen. In this state, it is possible to display a real-time image without stress to the user.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the display device 4402 of the wireless terminal device 44 is placed vertically or face down, the user is normally considered not to be looking at the screen. In this case, it is not necessary to receive an image in real time. Therefore, when the acceleration sensor 4403 detects that the wireless terminal device 44 is placed vertically or face down, user data communication or the like is connected to the second wireless base station 42 through the low-speed wireless communication path 48. To do. As a result, data communication can be realized without performing high-speed wireless communication with high power consumption. For this reason, the battery specification ratio of the wireless terminal device 44 can be reduced. Further, in the case of FIG. 11B, the power consumption can be further reduced by turning off the display of the display device 4402.

  As the acceleration sensor 4403 in FIG. 11, for example, ADXL202JC manufactured by Analog Devices, which is a two-dimensional acceleration sensor, may be used. In this acceleration sensor, it is possible to detect the positional relationship of the terminal with respect to the direction of gravity by means of the combined acceleration of two axes. In addition, when the terminal is in the acceleration / deceleration state, the accurate gravity direction cannot be detected. However, by adding another acceleration sensor in the direction of the third dimension, the direction of gravity in the third dimension can be further increased. It is possible to grasp accurately.

  In the third embodiment of the present invention, the high-speed wireless transmission path 46 is used only for the downlink from the first wireless base station 40 to the wireless terminal device 44, and the low-speed wireless communication path 48 is used for the uplink. Anyway. In this case, power consumption can be further reduced, and the terminal price can be reduced by reducing the number of parts of the wireless terminal device 44.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The third embodiment also shows a specific application example of the radio communication system according to the first embodiment, as in the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 12, a wireless terminal device 50 includes a first wireless base station 54 installed in the house 52 and a second public wireless base installed outside the house 52 in the house 52. It is assumed that the radio wave of the station 56 can be received at least. The radio terminal device 50 in the house 52 can be connected to either the first radio base station 54 or the second radio base station 56 by channel switching, but the first radio base station 54 An ID indicating that it is a home radio base station in the house 52 is broadcast in part of the broadcast channel, and the second radio base station 56 is also a public radio base station in part of the broadcast channel. It is assumed that an ID indicating that is informed.

  In this case, the wireless terminal device 50 can perform stable quality communication by giving priority to the connection to the first wireless base station 54, and further, the radio wave is attenuated by the wall of the house 52. Connections can be made with reduced external radio interference.

  In addition, when the wireless terminal device 50 moves from the inside of the house 52 to the outside, the same wireless frequency is used. Therefore, when the wireless terminal device 50 is connected to the second wireless base station 56, the same transmitting / receiving circuit is used. It is possible to reduce the size and cost of the terminal.

  To determine whether the house 52 is inside or outside, the received electric field strength of the broadcast information of the first radio base station 54 is measured, and the received electric field strength of the first radio base station 54 has a predetermined threshold value. If exceeding, it is possible by connecting to the first radio base station 54. As another method, by using ambient illuminance or using a GPS (positioning satellite), it is also possible to determine the inside or outside of the house from the reference of the terminal position information and map information.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 shows a case where an image photographed by the digital camera device 62 is indirectly transferred to the server device 74 connected to the communication network 72.

  First, in FIG. 13A, the digital camera device 62 is located inside a building 66 such as a museum or a hall. For this reason, the wireless communication device built in the digital camera device 62 is outside the communication area 70 of the wireless base station 68 of the communication network 72 and cannot be directly connected to the wireless base station 68. In such a case, the wireless terminal device 64 once receives the image in the digital camera device 62 and stores it inside. The delivery of the image may be different from the wireless system for the wireless base station 68. For example, the digital camera device 62 and the wireless terminal device 64 may be temporarily connected by Bluetooth. The wireless terminal device 64 is always in contact with the outside of the user's body, for example, in the shape of a wristwatch.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, the user of the wireless terminal device 64 goes out of the building 66 and moves into the communication area 70 of the wireless base station 68. At this time, it is assumed that the digital camera device 62 is carried in a metal basket 76. In this case, the digital camera device 62 cannot be connected to the radio base station 68 due to radio wave attenuation caused by the metal rod 76. However, since the wireless terminal device 64 is visible outside the wristwatch or the like, it can be connected to the wireless base station 68 and the stored data from the digital camera device 62 can be transmitted to the server device 74 via the communication network 72. Of course, it may be transmitted to another communication terminal device instead of the server device 74.

  According to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, when the digital camera device 62 does not have a connection device that can be used for connection to the radio base station 68, or even if there is a connection device, direct transmission is not possible. Even in the situation, asynchronous wireless data transmission to the wireless base station 68 can be performed via the wireless terminal device 64.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 14, the first wireless terminal device 78 is a wireless terminal device including a display device such as a PDA (Personal Didigal Assistent). The second wireless terminal device 80 can be connected to both the first wireless terminal device 78 and the wireless base station 82, and is always exposed to the outside like a wristwatch, for example.

  FIG. 14A shows a case where the user passes through the automatic ticket gate 84 in the station premises in the first and second wireless terminal devices 78 and 80. Here, there is data such as an electronic mail addressed to the first wireless terminal device 78 from the information server 88, but the first wireless terminal device 78 is in a bag and cannot communicate with the wireless base station 82 due to radio wave attenuation. And This is because, for example, in the case of a high frequency such as the 5 GHz band, communication becomes difficult in a situation where the line of sight is not possible. In such a case, the data addressed to the first wireless terminal device 78 is temporarily received by the easily connected second wireless terminal device 80 and stored in the storage device of the first wireless terminal device 80.

  And as shown in FIG.14 (b), a user transfers the data once accumulate | stored in the 2nd radio | wireless terminal apparatus 80 in the rail vehicle 90 to the 1st radio | wireless terminal apparatus 78, and the 1st The wireless terminal device 78 can display a moving image or the like.

(Sixth embodiment)
Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a communication system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a schematic configuration diagram, and (b) is a configuration of the gateway server of (a). FIG.

  In FIG. 15A, for example, it is assumed that the user carrying the wireless terminal device 92 loses consciousness due to an accident and cannot call the hospital. In this case, the wireless terminal device 92 detects that the user is in a dangerous state, automatically reports the information to a necessary place, and helps the user to rescue.

  Specifically, the wireless terminal device 92 monitors the health state of the user, and if it detects a dangerous state, it connects to the wireless base station 94 and notifies the gateway server 96 of an emergency signal. For example, a message ID of a type for notifying danger is used, but not only a fixed number such as 119 but also a special number corresponding to the danger state of the user can be notified.

  As shown in FIG. 15B, in the gateway server 96, an emergency call is displayed on the terminal 106 by referring to the table 100 in the communication control unit 98, for example, by the call number of the user's family doctor 102. Let Alternatively, an emergency call can be displayed by displaying an emergency call on the communication terminal device 110 by the call number of the fire department or the emergency center 108. The table 100 in this case is arranged in the order of calling, but can be set to change the call destination depending on the danger state.

  The gateway server 96 can also notify the related person 112 of the danger by calling the terminal 114 of the related person 112 such as a relative through the wireless base station 116. Further, instead of switching the call destination from the gateway server 96 using the table 100, for example, the service provider 118 may perform the call function of each of the communication termination devices 104 on behalf.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another configuration of the sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 16, when the wireless terminal device 120 detects that the user is at risk of falling down due to an accident, illness, etc., the preset emergency contact code is sent via the wireless base station 124. To notify the terminal device 134 of the danger via the communication terminal devices 130 of the hospital 126, the fire department, and the emergency center 128, respectively. The fire department or emergency center staff 136 or the medical staff 138 looks at each terminal 134 to detect the danger of the user and quickly arrange the dispatch of an ambulance. As a result, the user can be rescued. The wireless terminal device 120 also displays emergency information on the user terminal device 148 via the local wireless base station 146 by notifying an emergency signal to the gateway device 144 of the house 142 of the related person 140 such as a relative, The user 140 can be notified of the danger of the user.

  In FIG. 16 described above, the location information of the user can be known based on, for example, the base station ID broadcast from the radio base station 124. By displaying this information on the terminal devices 134 and 148, rescue can be performed quickly and quickly. It becomes possible to carry out accurately. In addition, the wireless terminal device 120 does not search with the call destination table, but the service provider 150 has the call destination table, and the wireless terminal device 120 notifies the service provider 150 of the dangerous state of the user. It is also possible for the service provider 150 to call the fire department or emergency center 128, the hospital 126 or the person concerned 140.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the wireless terminal apparatuses 92 and 120 shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 described above. In FIG. 17, the wireless terminal device includes an infrared sensor 152, a camera device 154, an acceleration sensor 156, a pulse wave sensor 158, a position sensor 160, a health management information storage unit 162, an image processing unit 164, At least a user state determination unit 166, a communication control unit 168, a communication destination list 170, a communication processing unit 172, a wireless reception unit 174, and a wireless transmission unit 176 are provided.

  In the wireless terminal device of FIG. 17, based on the measurement information of the infrared sensor 152 or the image signal of the camera device 154, the image processing unit 164 processes the state of the user of the wireless terminal device. Then, the image processing signal as the processing result is transmitted to the user state determination unit 166. Furthermore, the user state determination unit 166 receives the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 156, the pulse wave information from the pulse wave sensor 158, and the position signal from the position sensor 160, and determines the state of the user's body. Moreover, the user state determination unit 166 refers to the health management information stored in the health management information storage unit 162 as necessary, and monitors the state of the user's body.

  When the user state determination unit 166 detects an abnormality or danger in the user's body state, the user state determination unit 166 transmits a user state determination signal indicating the danger to the communication control unit 168. The communication control unit 168 reads communication destination list information including a call ID of the user's family doctor from the communication destination list 170 that stores the user's communication destination ID, and transmits a communication control signal to the communication processing unit 172. To do. The communication processing unit 172 outputs a receiver control signal and a transmitter control signal to the wireless reception unit 174 and the wireless transmission unit 176, respectively, and transmits and receives reception data and transmission data.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communications system containing the radio | wireless terminal apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of the layer structure of the radio | wireless terminal apparatus 22 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the layer structure of the radio | wireless terminal apparatus 22 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the 3rd example of the layer structure of the radio | wireless terminal apparatus 22 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the 4th example of the layer structure of the radio | wireless terminal apparatus 22 of FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the radio | wireless terminal apparatus 22 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of reception operation | movement of the radio | wireless terminal apparatus 22 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of transmission operation | movement of the radio | wireless terminal apparatus 22 of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of prioritizing a radio | wireless machine. It is a schematic block diagram of the communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the communication system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the communication system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the communication system which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the communication system which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows another structure of the 6th Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of wireless terminal apparatuses 92 and 120 in FIGS. 15 and 16. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the conventional radio | wireless communications system. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of the conventional radio | wireless communications system.

Explanation of symbols

10, 12, 14, 36, 38, 58, 72, 86, 120, 150 Communication network 16, 18, 20, 40, 42, 54, 56, 68, 82, 94, 116, 124, 146, 1014, 1016 , 1048 Wireless base station 22, 44, 50, 64, 78, 80, 92, 114, 122, 148, 1004 Wireless terminal device 24, 26, 60, 96, 144, 1042 Interface (inter-network connection device)
28, 30, 32, 34, 74, 88, 1026, 1046 Information server 46 High-speed wireless transmission path 48 Low-speed wireless transmission path 52, 142 House 62 Digital camera device 66 Building 70 Communication area 76 ８４ 84 Automatic ticket gate device 90 Railway vehicle 98 Communication Control Unit 100 Table 102 Doctor 104,130 Communication Termination Device 106,110,134 Communication Terminal Device 108,128 Fire Station, Emergency Center 112,140 Related Persons such as Relatives 118 Service Provider 126 Hospital 136 Fire Station or Emergency Center Staff 138 Medical Staff 152 Infrared sensor 154 Camera device 156, 2204, 4403 Acceleration sensor 158 Pulse wave sensor 160, 2205 Position sensor 162 Health management information storage unit 164 Image processing unit 166 User state determination unit 168 Communication control unit 170 Communication destination list 172 Communication processing unit 174, 2202 Wireless reception unit 176, 2210 Wireless transmission unit 1000 PHS network 1002 PDC network 1006 Display unit 1008 Numeric keypad 1010, 1012 Wireless antenna 1018, 1052 Access server 1020, 1044 Internet 1022, 1024, 1054 Communication destination terminal 1028 PC device 1028a PCMCIA card slot 1028b Icon 1028c Mouse cursor 1030 PHS data communication card 1032 Wireless LAN card device 1034 PHS terminal 1036 Master unit 1038 Ethernet 1040 Local network 1050 PHS network 2201 Communication control unit 2203 Battery 2206 Terminal state determination unit 2207, 4402 Display device 2208 Input device 22 09 User application 4401 Antenna

Claims (3)

A communication network comprising a plurality of radio base stations;
A wireless terminal device connectable to each of the wireless base stations;
Comprising a table in which information for specifying each of a plurality of connection destinations of the wireless terminal device designated in advance is included, and includes a connection destination selection means for selecting a connection destination of the wireless terminal device with reference to the table, The wireless terminal device
Means for monitoring the status of the user of the wireless terminal device as needed;
Means for storing the health management information of the user;
A means for sending an emergency signal when the user detects that the user is in a dangerous state with reference to the storing means, and the connection destination selecting means is connected via any one of the radio base stations. When the emergency signal transmitted from the wireless terminal device is received, a connection destination of the wireless terminal device is selected. 2. The radio according to claim 1, wherein the connection destination selection unit is provided in a gateway server connected between the radio base station installed in the home of the user and the communication network. Communications system. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the connection destination selection unit is provided in a service provider connected to the communication network.

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